Hungary's new President Tamas Sulyok speaks as he attends his inauguration ceremony in Budapest, Hungary, March 10, 2024. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo
BUDAPEST, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban will face a strong challenger for the first time in 16 years at Hungary's parliamentary vote on April 12, with the outcome having profound implications for Europe and its far-right political forces.
Orban's reelection bid will be watched far beyond Hungary. The nationalist leader counts U.S. President Donald Trump as an anti-European Union ally and has maintained close ties with Moscow despite the war in Ukraine.
The parliamentary election will be held on April 12, President Tamas Sulyok said on Tuesday on his Facebook page.
The 62-year-old Orban, who rose to power in 2010 with a landslide win, has transformed Hungary into a self-styled "illiberal democracy." He has frequently clashed with Brussels over restrictions on independent media, his anti-immigration stance and erosion of LGBTQ rights.
In the vote, he will face Peter Magyar, a former government insider whose centre-right Tisza party has shaken up Hungary's political scene since its entry in 2024.
ORBAN VOWS SECURITY, MAGYAR SET TO FIGHT CORRUPTION
Orban's Fidesz party campaigns with the slogan "The safe choice," saying it would keep Hungary out of the war in Ukraine, while keeping out illegal migrants.
Orban faces a race against time to revive the stagnating economy before the vote, as an inflationary surge following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine has triggered a cost-of-living crisis.
Meanwhile, 44-year-old Magyar's party leads over Fidesz in most polls, though a large swathe of uncertain voters poses uncertainty.
The Tisza party had the support of 48% of decided voters while Fidesz had 40%, a December survey by pollster Publicus showed.
Magyar has said that he would keep Hungary firmly anchored in the European Union and NATO and strive for "pragmatic relations" with Russia.
He pledged to unlock billions of euros in frozen EU funds to boost the economy by taking steps to rein in corruption.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Anita Komuves; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
